A new study to assess how early treatment affects schizophrenia will be launched by NIMH with the help of stimulus money, according to a press release distributed yesterday. Several agencies are involved in the collaborative project in 30 clinical sites. Leadership comes from two New York research psychiatrists, Dr. John Kane from Zucker Hillside Hospital, Manhasset, and Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York City.
Early intervention is cited as important in the prognosis of many health disorders. How it affects schizophrenia, known to have devastating impacts on learning, working, and living in the community, will likely influence clinical and policy decisions. Funding from the Recovery Act
"will underwrite the initial two phases of the trial, during which the investigators will refine the interventions with input from stakeholders and conduct a feasibility study to demonstrate that each intervention can be fielded in real world community treatment settings and be evaluated in a randomized clinical trial design."
